Rape convict Ram Rahim was given a 50-day parole in January
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has raised questions over repeated paroles granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, a rape convict who is supposed to be serving 20 years in prison. The rape convict was given a 50-day parole in January, it was his seventh parole in almost 10 months and ninth in the last four years.
The high court has directed the Haryana government to ensure the surrender of Ram Rahim on March 10, the day his parole is supposed to end and has ordered the state government to request the court's permission to grant parole to Ram Rahim the next time.
Besides the setback, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the state government to provide information as to how many people have been given payroll in this manner. The court was hearing a petition filed by SGPC.
Ram Rahim was given parole on three occasions and was out of jail for 91 days. He was released for 21 days in November, 30 days in July, and 40 days in January - to attend former Dera chief Shah Satnam's birth anniversary. The frequent paroles/furloughs were questioned by the court and the state government has been asked to provide information on how many prisoners applied for parole and how many applications were accepted by them.
The high court also sought answers from the Haryana government over benefits given to the rape convict and how many prisoners received similar treatment.
Ram Rahim Singh was convicted by a special CBI court in Haryana's Panchkula in August 2017 for raping two women.
There's a pattern behind granting paroles to him and it usually happens during state elections or local body polls. Dera followers, and particularly those of Ram Rahim Singh, are influential in Punjab's Malwa region, with their votes seen as key in deciding parliamentary and legislative elections. The Malwa region has 69 constituencies - over half of the Punjab Assembly's 117 seats.
Dera followers - who number in the crores and have been relatively subdued since Rahim Singh was jailed - are widely seen as voting per diktats from sect leaders.
In February 2022, the Dera chief was given a 21-day parole just days ahead of the Punjab Assembly election. The furlough was challenged in the Punjab and High Court. The petitioner said the order of furlough is "unwarranted, illegal, untenable".
A few months later in June 2022, he was out of jail for 30 days in the middle of the Haryana Municipal elections. Four months later in October, he was out again for 40 days before a by-election to Haryana's Adampur seat.